Contraception In Amy Pattee's Getting It On

“Getting It On” is a journal article that explores young adult literature from 1995 to 2010. The question the author aim to answer is how contraception has been portrayed in young adult literature. In particular, how useful is the information about contraception and might teenagers pick up this information from leisure reading. According the journal authors and librarians have agreed that it is important that teens see sex and sexuality represented in fiction. Amy Pattee states, “Fictional texts should be considered as unique information sources that can offer young readers both realistic and needed information about sex and the sex act.” Instead, Tricia Suellentrop finds that “Teen romance novels with more than a hint of sex and no negative repercussions are becoming more common.” The journal states that teen

According to their data teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. was approximately 72 out of every 1,000 and fifteen percent of all teens had STDs. Within the twenty–five books examined, the authors studied thirty–two protagonist, twenty female, twelve male, and thirty–six relationships. Only eight of the books examined provided enough detail to be considered helpful to a teen looking for information about contraception. Only six of the eight books were considered to have a positive portrayal of contraception. The author concluded, that although there was a body of fiction that portrayed teens considering or currently engaging in sexual activity, what appeared to be lacking was useful depictions of teens navigating the questions of contraception and positive portrayals of contraception. Personally, I found the topic of young adult fiction and the portrayal of contraception to be an interesting topic. Growing up I never felt I acquired sexual knowledge from leisure reading. This could be due to my choice of books, considering they were far from sexual. However, within the books I read there was